New Home Owners Seek Advice

[mneumann02]

We close on our new home in Pinellas July 8. Since we still work part time in St. Louis, we will stay when we can and rent this winer (hopefully). Seeking any and all advice including:
-hiring a grass cutter
-best way to rent the home out for a few months
.what do you put the thermostat on when you are not there for a couple of months in summer/winter
-homeowner's insurance
-what cycle to put the sprinklers on
-If I buy a small car and leave it there, as a Missouri resident I assume I license it in Missouri.
-eventually where to buy a golf cart

Thanks all. We've already met lots of people including our neighbors and everyone has been genuinely wonderful.

[BarryRX]

I'll answer the question about the thermostat. You should get a humidistat installed if your home will be vacant for an extended time. The humidistat will turn the ac on if the humidity rises above a certain level. This will save you lots of money and prevent problems like mold. Welcome to The Villages!

[folkh]

We close on our new home in Pinellas July 8. Since we still work part time in St. Louis, we will stay when we can and rent this winer (hopefully). Seeking any and all advice including:
-hiring a grass cutter
-best way to rent the home out for a few months
.what do you put the thermostat on when you are not there for a couple of months in summer/winter
-homeowner's insurance
-what cycle to put the sprinklers on
-If I buy a small car and leave it there, as a Missouri resident I assume I license it in Missouri.
-eventually where to buy a golf cart

Thanks all. We've already met lots of people including our neighbors and everyone has been genuinely wonderful.

We use Custom Cut for the grass, Deans for pest control,termite and Scott's for lawn fertilizing and lawn bugs. We set our thermostat at 84 when not there in warm months. Hope this helps.

[mulligan]

We use Stellar for everything outside. One stop shopping with a very reliable company. I would strongly urge you to engage a homewatch service to check the house weekly. Redwitch, a poster on this forum comes to mind. Problems related to heat, humidity, power failure/surge can cause a lot of damage in a hurry, and a weekly check both inside and out could be a big money saver.

[l2ridehd]

We close on our new home in Pinellas July 8. Since we still work part time in St. Louis, we will stay when we can and rent this winer (hopefully). Seeking any and all advice including:
-hiring a grass cutter
-best way to rent the home out for a few months
.what do you put the thermostat on when you are not there for a couple of months in summer/winter
-homeowner's insurance
-what cycle to put the sprinklers on
-If I buy a small car and leave it there, as a Missouri resident I assume I license it in Missouri.
-eventually where to buy a golf cart

Thanks all. We've already met lots of people including our neighbors and everyone has been genuinely wonderful.

Grass cutter, use who your neighbors use as that will make sure it gets done. If you have someone no one around you uses, you will find your grass long and uncut at some point.

To rent for January, February, and March is very easy. Just place an ad on this site. More is hard work, but can be done.

Set thermostat around 85 degrees in summer and 60 degrees in the winter. Adding a humidistat is also a very good idea. Pays for itself in a couple months.

Hire a home watch person. Your insurance will require it. Redwitch on this forum is a good choice. She will adjust your sprinkler timing as needed. And it needs it often.

For insurance there is many choices. Villages Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, and USAA, and many others. Perhaps who you use at home if they insure there.

Yes, register the car where you live.

Buy your golf cart used for your first one. You will than decide what it is you like and can sell it and buy a new one. You will only lose a few hundred and be able to know what your personal preference is. Once you decide and want a new one, for gas, go Yamaha and go to Carts and Clubs in Ocala. Electric go for a new Club Car or EZ-Go. Both are good and have local dealerships.

[dewilson58]

We close on our new home in Pinellas July 8. Since we still work part time in St. Louis, we will stay when we can and rent this winer (hopefully). Seeking any and all advice including:
-hiring a grass cutter
-best way to rent the home out for a few months
.what do you put the thermostat on when you are not there for a couple of months in summer/winter
-homeowner's insurance
-what cycle to put the sprinklers on
-If I buy a small car and leave it there, as a Missouri resident I assume I license it in Missouri.
-eventually where to buy a golf cart


Thanks all. We've already met lots of people including our neighbors and everyone has been genuinely wonderful.

Lawn and Pest Control = Fertigator
Temp.....82/60
Insurance = The Villages
Cycles = Doing twice per week 30mins grass, 15 landscape (changes during the year)
Missouri plate
Two popular places for carts: The Villages. Clubs & Carts in Ocala.
House watch service is a good idea. Not "required by insurance". The best house watch East of the Mississippi River is The Village Sitter...........267.481.0588.

Now watch for repeat recommendations.
Good Luck.

[redwitch]

Lawn: I like Chad's Lawn Service 352-430-5416. They do full service (cutting, trimming, weeding, pest control) but totally agree that hiring what your neighbors use (if their lawns look good) is the best way to go.

Pest control: Massey's or Dean's

Thermostat: You have one of the newer thermostats, which should have a built-in humidistat -- simply switch it to vacation mode and you'll be fine.

Golf cart: As was recommended, buy a used one first. It can become a nice second cart or used as a trade in or sold when you decide exactly what you want and what bells and whistles you want your cart to have. I like Jim Followell for used carts -- he stands behind his carts, is a Villager and has been around a long time with a great rep.

Sprinklers need to be changed frequently. For now, twice a week -- 35-45 mins per cycle for rotaries; 15-30 for regular sprinklers; 10 for soakers.

[rjm1cc]

Be sure your auto insurance co can insure a car garaged full time in Fl. Mine could not.

[CFrance]

Nor mine. But Allstate guy in Wildwood insured my neighbor's NJ car so she could have it registered in fl and leave it in her garage here permanently. and she does not have a FL drivers license.

[upstate]

Welcome, we are snowflakes and have been here for about a year. I would recommend the following.
Homewatch-Redwitch
Lawn-Nash Landscaping
Pest and Fertilizing-Deans
HVAC-Chuck Farrell
Handyman-Gene Blomquist
Painter-Steve Kling
Locksmith-Howard Hansen
Yes, definitely get a humidistat. Hope this helps.

[drritaw]

We just moved in full-time to Pinellas from St. Louis. Go Cardinals!

We bought our house last year and it was vacant most of the year except for my cousin who was here 3 months, and our occasional visits.

Grass: we like Deans and our neighbors actually switched to Deans after seeing the difference in our yards. We also use them for pest control.

MO licensing of car: To our knowledge, you can license in MO but have to take it back to MO every 2 years for inspection to renew license.

Welcome to Pinellas from another newbie!

[EnglishJW]

Thermostat: You have one of the newer thermostats, which should have a built-in humidistat -- simply switch it to vacation mode and you'll be fine.


You probably already have this as Redwitch has suggested. She is also an excellent choice to look after your property when you are not in TV.

We also use Dean's for everything outside agreeing with others who prefer "one stop shopping."